This being done, consider to whom you gave one counter, to whom two, and to whom three; and as there were only twenty-four counters at first, there must necessarily remain either 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, or 7, on the table, or otherwise they must have failed in observing the directions you gave them.
But if either of these numbers remain, as they ought, the question may be resolved by retaining in your memory the six following words:—
| Salve | certa | anima | semita | vita | quies. | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
As, for instance, suppose the number that remained was 5; then the word belonging to it is semita; and as the vowels in the first two syllables of this word are e and i, it shews, according to the former directions, that he to whom you gave two counters has the ring; he to whom you gave three counters, the gold; and the other person, of course, the silver, it being the second vowel which represents 2, and the third which represents 3.
How to part an Eight Gallon Bottle of Wine equally between two Persons, using only two other Bottles, one of Five Gallons, and the other of Three.
This question is usually proposed in the following manner: A certain person having an eight-gallon bottle filled with excellent wine, is desirous of making a present of half of it to one of his friends; but as he has nothing to measure it out with, but two other bottles, one of which contains five gallons, and the other three, it is required to find how this may be accomplished?
In order to answer the question, let the eight-gallon bottle be called A, the five-gallon bottle B, and the three-gallon bottle C; then, if the liquor be poured out of one bottle into another, according to the manner denoted in either of the two following examples, the proposed conditions will be answered.
| 8 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 3 | |||||
| A | B | C | A | B | C | |||||
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 3 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |||||
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| 1 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
A Quantity of Eggs being broken, to find how many there were without remembering the Number.
An old woman, carrying eggs to market in a basket, met an unruly fellow, who broke them. Being taken before a magistrate, he was ordered to pay for them, provided the woman could tell how many she had; but she could only remember, that in counting them into the basket by twos, by threes, by fours, by fives, and by sixes, there always remained one; but in counting them in by sevens, there were none remaining. Now, in this case, how was the number to be ascertained?